Cole Hamels, who went 7-7 with a 3.81 ERA and 143 strikeouts during an injury-plagued season with the Cubs in 2019, signed a one-year, $18 million deal with the Braves.
Strong starting pitching and daily competitiveness were essential to the 'gold standard' of Cubs teams, and back-to-back solid starts may signal a turnaround after opening the year 1-6.
The Cubs' offense poured it on early and often Saturday night in a 14-8 win over the Brewers that broke a six-game losing streak. Jason Heyward had two home runs and stole two bases in his first multihomer game with Chicago.
Over the weekend, Cubs pitcher Cole Hamels recorded his first hole-in-one on a golf course, and on Monday, he hit a home run in his final spring training tune-up.
"It's dumb because they have us in last place." Winners of an average of 97 games over the past four years, here's what the Cubs really think about a projection that has them winning 79 games.
A World Series winner two Novembers ago, owner Tom Ricketts' team still has a championship core. But the Cubs haven't done much to build on that this offseason.
